The invention relates to a cooling apparatus operated by ambient air and an agent to be cooled which can have solid state at atmospherical temperatures, which comprises a housing such as a cooling tower or the like having air inlets and air closure means at the air inlets and large surface heat exchangers arranged within the cooling tower at the air inlets. With the aid of the apparatus, the agent is cooled by air streaming through the large surface heat exchanger which is divided into groups or sectors connected parallel to each other.
It is well known that in the operation of various industries large quantities of heat must be dissipated into the ambient air with the aid of the previously described cooling apparatuses, especially in the operation of thermal power stations. In the cooling apparatus, the agent to be cooled being in liquid or in gaseous state streams through large surface heat exchangers which are close-ribbed and the air flows through the heat exchanger either in a forced way (by ventilators) or by natural draft utilizing the lower density of the warm air in a chimney.
The operation of these cooling apparatuses is relatively simple in the case of fair weather. But, if the weather is cold and the agent to be cooled can change its aggregate for having solid state upon the impact of cold weather, the starting and stopping of these cooling apparatuses may run into serious difficulties which may even cause changes.